6040/About a Tree

About a Tree
Date of Scene:	22 December 2018
Location:	New York City
Synopsis:	Sam gets a tree and Castiel butt dials May.
Cast of Characters:	Sam Winchester, Castiel, Melinda May

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Sam Winchester has posed:
It was four days until Christmas all all through the house... actually lots of things were stirring and judging by how clean Ignatio kept the store downstairs, Sam was ready to believe some of them were mice. Still, not that Sam was going to let that dampen his Christmas spirit.

Coming upstairs with a box of Christmas decorations, that Sam was sure Dean would have proclaimed as lame, Sam bursts through the door calling out, "Hey Cas, you here? I need your help getting the tree up the stairs."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel was enjoying his most favourite.. natch.. his most *usual* passtime, at least when he wasn't sitting in a bar drinking boilermakers, with his behind in Dean's recliner, a beer in one hand, a box of pizza beside him, and the tv playing an old black and white movie (The Bishop's Wife, as it happens - a holiday classic).

"Why are you bringing a tree up the stairs," he grumbles without moving or looking, and certainly without helping. "They grow outside. Leave it there."

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam's eyes zero in on Castiel in his usual spot and he says, "C'mon get, up," he even claps his hands, the sound muffled by his woolen mittens. "It's almost Christmas, we're actually staying in one place, and I'm going to have a Christmas tree."

He sets down his decorations. "Or do angels not celebrate Christmas the way monsters don't go out on Halloween, too commercialized."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel furrows his craggy brows at Sam. "This Christmas. I do not understand how a tree is necessary." Because of course the story of the nativity didn't include trees, decorations, or even gifts - unless you counted what the wise men brought, and technically, they came for His second or third birthday.

Yeah. Darcy had tried to explain it to him and thrown her hands up in disgust last year. Castiel still wasn't sure how the two things related. Then again, he'd not seen It's a Wonderful Life yet, either.

Sam Winchester has posed:
Oh, if Sam only knew that Cas hadn't seen It's a Wonderful Life, he'd have thrown that in the DVD player right away. Yes, he had a copy, shut up!

"It's what you put the presents under, and it smells nice," he says. "C'mon, just help me drag it up the stairs and you can go back to sitting on your ass."

Sam shakes his head and turns towards the stairs. "Anyhow, what /do/ angels do for Christmas?"

Castiel has posed:
Castiel continues to grumble, "Presents? We are having presents?"

He does, however, get up out of Dean's recliner and come to help - if only to shut Sam up. Nevermind that he could have popped down the stairs, grabbed the tree, and popped back up again and made short work of it for both of them.

He either hasn't thought of it, or he's relishing the misery he's putting himself through.

"We sure as hell don't drag trees up stairs and shove gifts underneath them just because they smell good. We don't do anything, you idiot. Do you think He was really born on your 25th of December? Even your Good Book doesn't pin it down. There's a reason for that, you know. Ever think about it?"

The angel sighs and contemplates Sam's mess of tree in the stairwell.

"Our lives are spent in venerating and rejoicing in Him, boy. There's a moment of silence, and we carry on. Some sing. Some stand taller. Others trudge along sideroads and beg at the mouths of alleyways, or rock their babes to sleep in a shelter."

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam heads down the stairs, his hiking boots clunking with each step.

"Well right now, me and Him aren't on the best of terms, so, if He wasn't born on the 25th so much the better," he says as he reaches the tree which he has wedged in the door. "So, thinking if you teleport to the other end, we can get this sucker up the stairs."

He continues: "Though, no, can't say I ever thought about the reason it wasn't pinned down. For the most part, I guess, Christmas has always been about family to me."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel grunts, but he does teleport to the other side of the tree - or end as it happens - and bends over, grabbing the trunk stump. "Now what? And family, huh?"

There's a vague niggling feeling in the back of his head that says there's something there, only Cas doesn't know what it is or where it's come from. "Can't say as I care one way or another. Not like the Choir bond the way you and the idiot do."

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Uh, lift up that end I'll lift up this one and we'll carry it up the stairs," Sam explains. "And yeah."

"That's a shame," Sam says. "Family is... well, a pain in the ass, but also great, at least my family is."

Sam lifts his end of the tree and starts to pull. "Also, tell Dean I said that and you're so dead."

Castiel has posed:
Castiel snorts from his end of the tree. "Do I look stupid? The boy is puffed up about himself as it is."

Cas hefts his end, and stands there until Sam begins to pull. It's only then that he catches on to what he's supposed to be doing. "This would be easier with a smaller tree," he points out.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Good," Sam says. Dean finding out Sam thought he was great was the last thing Sam wanted.

He starts to lead the tree up the stairs. "Yeah, yeah, but bigger trees are better. Means you can put more ornaments on them. Anyhow, less bitching more lifting, sooner we're done the sooner you can sit your ass back down."

Castiel has posed:
"Bigger is bigger." Even if Castiel totally thought bigger sword meant better sword. But then again, there was a certain amount of pride in the angel at being one of the foremost warriors of the Lord.

He pushes the tree from his end, helping... some. "You're pretty mouthy for an boy who is about half a sentence away from taking the tree the rest of the way up the stairs alone," Castiel poitns out. He is, after all, on the exit side of the tree. He knows where the bars are. He can get a new drink somewhere. And, he can get back into the apartment without having to go through the tree. He's not seeing the problem here.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"And /better/" Sam insists. "Trust me, I'm an expert on this stuff."

Some might just be worse than no help at all. "Jeeze, Cas, what the heck are you doing, lift and carry don't try to impale me with with it," Sam shakes his head. Though when Cas threatens quitting, Sam relents. "You're not going to right? I mean, we're past the Rubicon here, there's no way I'm getting that tree out of the stairs without help." And Sam couldn't teleport.

Castiel has posed:
"I'm not the idiot who brought a tree home," Castiel points out acidically. "You want help carrying this tree, or you want to think about it while I go down to the bar."

He does, however, relent enough to pick up his end of the tree again, and lift. "Stupid human customs. Remind me again why I'm here with you and your brother and not back with the Choir?"

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Fiiine," Sam says. "Just don't stab me in the ass with the thing, okay?"

Sam shakes his head then gets down to the business of lifting the tree up the stairs, he makes some progress, and before too long the two of them have it right at their door, which had closed.

"Uh, Cas, you got the keys right?" he asks down the steps to the angel.

After which he answers. "Because you saved my life."

Castiel has posed:
"Do I look like a doorman," Castiel grouses. Then he has to pause and think. "Do I even have keys?"

It's entirely likely he was given some, but it's not like he uses doors all the time. Not even consistently, even if he's been convinced, now, of the advantage of fitting in by doing so. "And it wasn't your life, idiot. Was your brother's. Damn fool about to trade his soul for yours."

Okay, technically, Castiel had saved Sam's life. He'd raised him from the dead, after all. It just wasn't the intent of his actions - he'd actually been trying to save Dean's soul. Which made it all a truly semantical argument as things went, but as Castiel saw it, it was a point worth making at this time, given it was Sam saying he'd saved his life. Castiel was just as likely to protest he'd saved Sam's life and not Dean's were Dean the one he was with.

"How are you with locks," he asks pointedly. Not like he can't just use his usual method of breaking and entering and let them both in.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"I thought I gave you some," Sam says, though at this point he's not entirely sure. Did he really just teleport in all the time?

He frowns though at the description of what Cas did, or at least, Cas' view on it. "Same deal," he says a little subdued.

"Can you just pop in the appartment and open the door. I can get the tree the rest of the way inside."

Castiel has posed:
"Pop down the stairs, Castiel. Pop up the stairs, Castiel. I am not an elevator. Why don't you have your keys? You live here," Castiel points out irritatingly.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"So do you!" Sam says exhasperated. Then more quietly. "...And I left mine inside when I dropped off the box. So, Cas, please, can you just let us in? I'll get you scotch for Christmas if you do."

Which wasn't a terrible sacrifice on Sam's part, he'd already bought Cas the bottle, besides, they sold them in the shop downstairs.

Castiel has posed:
"I do what?" Castiel grumbles at Sam, turning to regard him, shoving his hands deep into his trench coat pockets. It's not likely he's doing that to search for keys, but that is what it looks like he's doing.

"The good scotch?" Cas asks. Yes, he appears to be bribable.

Melinda May has posed:
May's phone, despite being on her person at all times, doesn't actually ring very often. But when it does, it's usually an emergency. This time when it rang, it was Castiel's phone. No one was replying, but there was rustling as if the phone were concealed and there were muffled and faint voices in the back ground followed by the distinctive sound of a car door.

This is more than alarming to her, and she immediately steps out of the meeting she was in, claims a motorcycle from the garage (they're faster in heavy traffic if one is willing to break rules), and got underway while Ops traced the location of the phone. It finally stops at an apartment building, and she's there within a few minutes.

ICER in hand, she climbs the stairs quickly but very quietly, until she can again hear voices. They're... oh. Sam and Castiel. And it sounds like they're bickering. But still, she's going to be cautious. She steps toward them still prepared for a fight, well, until she rounds a corner and can SEE them. Arguing. With a christmas tree between them.

Relaxing from her ready-to-fight stance, she catches Castiel's question about 'the good scotch' and can't NOT comment. "I take it there isn't an emergency?"

Sam Winchester has posed:
The angel and his human compatriot cut a comical tableau at the top of the stairs with a locked door in front of them and a tree laid out on the stairs at the feet.

And no, the angel wasn't at the top, Sam had been holding that part, though it'd have been funnier if it was the other way around.

May's voice has Sam reacting, turning and reaching for the back of his flannel shirt, where May can tell he's got his piece. He stops quickly though.

"May?" he says surprised by her sudden arrival. "Uh, no, no emergency, why?"

Castiel will be left to wait on whether he's being bribed with the good scotch or not.

Spoiler Alet: he was. Okay, well, not bad scotch anyhow. Sam was on a budget.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel remains standing there with his hands in his pockets. He's not even aware, yet, that he's pocket dialed May. Or why she's so worried (and resultantly cranky about the fact that there isn't an emergency).

"Someone locked us out of the apartment," Castiel complains in the same tones he'd say 'someone released a battalion of greater demons upon Manhattan' (and likely be giving Sam that same pointed look in both cases). "After making me bring a tree inside."

It should be noted Sam did not make him bring it inside. He made him help carry it up the stairs.

"I was watching a movie." As though /that/ made it even more horrific a thing Sam had done.

Melinda May has posed:
May looks back and forth between the pair, as if actually considering whether or not they're messing with her. Because this is just too ridiculous to be anything other than genuine. She tucks her ICER back into her jacket and pulls out what looks like a slender wallet.

"You both need to be more mindful of your keys."

She gestures for one or both men to step out of her way so she can reach the door. "And your phones. Castiel, your phone called me while it was in your pocket. That's why I'm here, I thought something was wrong."

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Yeah, I locked us out, happy now, Cas? It's all me," Sam grouses with a roll of his eyes.

"Wait, that's why you're dicking around out here? You don't want to go back in and watch the movie?" He wasn't sure, but that definitely sounded like a Cas thing.

There's a snort when May mentions the phone. "You butt dailed her?" he asks crossing his arms and grinning as he steps out of the way for May.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel smiles when Sam admits his fault. It's a fleeting, grumpy thing, but it's a smile. And if it wasn't already fleeting, the next words out of Sam's mouth would have ended it immediately anyway. "Why would I stand here if I didn't want to go back in and watch the movie?"

He's not only slightly perplexed at how Sam got to that idea, but he'd also have just gone to that threatened bar if that were the case. Of course admitting that would also be admitting that he was enjoying that old classic, and perhaps giving insight into a developing romantic streak in the angel's crochety soul.

"I did not tell the phone to call you," Castiel declares to May. And as if to prove it, he removes his hands from his pockets, phone in one of them, neatly showing on the display a call to one Melinda May of 12:51 and counting.

Sam is glared at. "My ass does not make phone calls." Then without missing a beat, Castiel adds, "Unless I ask you nicely."

And he leaves it there.

Melinda May has posed:
May somehow manages the herculean challenge of NOT sighing at Castiel. "Please move out of the way so I can open the door for you boys. And end that call."

Once the crochety angel has stepped aside, she pulls a few slender metallic items out of the wallet and starts picking the lock on the door. It takes her less tahn two minutes to get it open, and then she's stepping back out of the way.

"You'll want to get that lock replaced, opening it the way I did causes damage." Sam is very likely more than aware of this, but she fully expects Castiel to be clueless.

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam just rolls his eyes at the angel's joke about his butt not making phone calls unless you ask it to. "God, you need to stop hanging out with my brother, seriously."

Still he can't help but smile before turning to watch May open the lock, eyeing her tecnique, when the door clicks open he says, "Not bad," before ducking down to pick up his end of the tree. "Go on in," he says to May before turning back to Cas. "Alright let's get this inside," he says leading the tree in once May's inside.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel gives the phone in his hand a confused look. "I did not tell it to phone you. This is strange. I believe it is defective." He presses the side button to turn it off, like he was shown, and thrusts the thing out at May. "You will have to take this back."

Because it's broken. And her fault he has it in the first place. In fact, hers is the only number in it. There's a reason she got the call.

Once the door is open, Cas doesn't budge. "Who are these let's you are talking about," he asks Sam. "I only agreed to help bring it up the stairs. You want it inside, I want the good scotch."

Melinda May has posed:
Not bad? May was actually just berating herself for getting rusty and taking so long to get the lock to disengage, but she's not about to admit to that. Better that they think that her lockpicking skills are passably good. Under promise, over deliver.

And then Castiel is even more grumpycat than usual and May looks at him flatly. "Castiel, please help Sam carry the tree inside, or get out of the way."

She sounds particularly unimpressed, and is prepared to help the young man carry the tree, even if she's never believed in the whole rigamarole. And no, he is NOT getting any scotch if she has any say in the matter.

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam keeps quiet about the phone, though at the mention of scotch he smirks, "You heard the lady Cas, get the tree inside... then we can talk about scotch."

As for May's skills, maybe Sam could do it a bit faster but then he was used to be the only one to bother to pick locks, Dean was more of a kick in the door kind of guy.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel didn't pick locks. He bypassed them entirely. A thing that made his continual complaint to Director Fury laughable, given how Castiel even got into the Triskelion on a regular basis. *ahem*

"Fine." Castiel rumbles, moving forward. "You take the stem. It's heavy." Like that was a real concern of his.

Inside, now that May is there, there's a half empty beer sitting on a pizza box beside a recliner, and the tv is showing the old black and white holiday classic "The Bishop's Wife" only it's drawing to a close, and now Castiel has missed her realization that she's truly in love with her husband, and he that he nearly lost her, and there's a Hallmark experience gone down the drain. Of course Castiel likely would have grumbled about the whole thing if someone were around.

Melinda May has posed:
May stands out of the way and holds the door open so they can get through with (hopefully) a minimum of fuss. And then she closes the door once they're completely inside. And the obvious question that she could ask, she hasn't. She figures one or both of them have a reason for bringing the tree equivalent of cut flowers into their apartment, and it's not her place to intrude with her opinion.

Once they're all inside with the door closed, the simply crosses her arms and watches the pair. No, she doesn't offer to help. Deal.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"You mean the trunk?" Sam says about the 'stem', all too smugly. "Anyhow yeah, I got it."

He drags the tree in with him and nods for Cas to help him set it up in a corner of the room he had cleaned this morning just for this purpose.

He tilts his head as he does to check out the movie. "Wait, you were watching that?" he asks.

Castiel has posed:
Castiel is the proverbial angel hanging off the top of the tree as the two bring it in, May closing the door behind them. "Trunk. Stem. It's a tree."

He's not much closer than May to understanding why a tree, though he at least understands, as Sam explains it, you put presents under it and they smell good. Sam means the tree. Castiel is still wondering why the presents smell.

"Not anymore," Castiel informs Sam, as the credits start rolling. "Someone locked us out of the apartment." (Someone shot Mr. Hooper. Someone started world war three. Someone invited Crowley to Sunday dinner - wait, that might have been Castiel, and there may be something of an agreement between the two).

Sam is actually lucky that the garbage and the recycling were recently put out (likely be Sam this morning), or the odds were good that corner would already be occupied. Despite not taking directions well, Castiel waits for Sam's instructions. He'd be just as happy to lean the thing in the corner and call it a day.

Melinda May has posed:
May leaves them to deal with the tree and heads into their kitchen, possibly to find something to drink. And, regardless of what condition she finds the kitchen in, she eventually emerges with a glass of water.

If there were any unwashed dishes sitting around, they've now been washed and dried.... if there was soap and towel available with which to do so.

"Sam, have you heard from your brother recently?" She is fully aware that the elder Winchester is prone to heading out on hunts and isn't worried. Honest.

Sam Winchester has posed:
It was lucky to find a clear spot and Sam gets the tree squared away pronto lest pizza boxes or beer bottles suddenly arrive to claim it.

Tree set against the wall Sam sighs and dusts off his hands on his jeans. "There, was that so bad?" he asks Cas, he likely knows the answer but he asks anyway. "And do I need to show you how to use the DVR again, you can rewind live TV back to before I locked us out." Yes, he just copped to it, and thinking about locking them out he grabs his keys from the dining table and stuffs them in his pocket on the way to the kitchen.

"Oh wow, you don't have to do our dishes, I mean, we'll get to them eventually," he says. "And Dean? Like a week ago, he was out in Kansas on a hunt. Should call again on Christmas, you want me to tell him you're looking for him?"

Castiel has posed:
"Yes," Castiel says in his usual gravel. It's hard to tell if he's truly displeased, being himself, or covering up 'nice' in the usual tones as a hedge-better. It's Castiel, at any given moment any of those things could be true.

"I used the machine," he tells Sam of the DVR. "It played a sportsball at me." As though that explained all Sam needed to know.

May is assured, "Dean is not dead. Or hurt." Because he'd know. He'd promised not to pop in unannounced unless there was an emergency, but he hadn't promised not to check remotely from time to time that there /wasn't/ an emergency. In short, Dean, like several others, remained on Castiel's watchlist, whether he liked it or not.